Tag Archives: Grandma Theresa

Photo-A-Day

Clean!

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Clean!
Photo-A-Day #1515

Eva taking a shower with Allison this morning. She did have a little soap mohawk happening the first time she popped up her head but I only had the cell phone and wasn’t expecting such a cute shot. So we did it again and the shot is still cute, I mean what shot of Eva is not cute?

Today we got ready for Grandma Theresa’s Wake. I finished putting together the 100 best photos of Grandma to be displayed at the wake. Then I came home and took care of Eva while Allison ran in to Newton to work. She’s doing some part time stuff for her former Boss. Never burn bridges is an important part of our work ethic. While Allison was gone I knew that I wouldn’t be able to complete the second set of photos, the ones for after the funeral, so I took Eva over to the Capron Park Zoo to relax and gather my thoughts. We saw all the animals except for the otters and then Eva spent some time on the swings and slides. We came home, had a lunch with Memere and then I put Eva down for a nap. Since then I have been working on a DVD for after Grandma’s funeral. The photos play to Ellis Paul’s song God’s Promise, which is actually Ellis’ music to Woody Guthrie’s lyrics. The song was part of an effort for the Guthrie family to see Woody’s work set to music. Woody Guthrie wrote this song while he was bedridden for so long. He wrote hundred’s of songs there in that bed and very few are set to music. It is a pretty amazing project.

Tonight is Grandma Theresa’s Wake and tomorrow is her funeral. I won’t be on that much between now and later tomorrow night. I have to finish working on the eulogy.

Photo-A-Day

Preserving History

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Preserving History
Photo-A-Day #1514

Today our family came together to celebrate Grandma Theresa. They came with an amazing array of photo albums. My Uncle Richard and my Aunt Donna brought many photos that they had. My Aunt Luann brought albums that were my Grandma Theresa’s personal albums. I spent a good five straight hours scanning each photo or shooting the photos with my camera. The loose photos got scanned and the ones in the albums were photographed. What was really nice about the albums was that under most of the photos were names of a few people in each photo written in my Grandma’s hand.

It is a little overwhelming to pour through moments in a persons history in one afternoon. Seeing them grown from young to middle aged to old. The thing that came across in seeing all these photos was that my Grandma valued family very much. When she was surrounded with family her smile radiated. She loved large gatherings and making sure that everyone had everything they needed. She wouldn’t sit down until everyone had a full plate. She was busy keeping everything going behind the scenes. And she made it look easy. She was the quiet ringmaster of this three ring circus called family.

So, did I spend any time with everyone who came to the house? Yes, I had a really nice morning with my cousin Shaun and his wife Morgan and their son Logan. I took today’s photo of Eva and Logan because they were very cute together. Well, that was when Eva wasn’t being bossy. She needs a sibling to temper that bossiness.

I also spent some time with my Dad going grocery shopping and getting ready for the cookout. We made sure that we got plenty of corn on the cob for everyone in honor of Grandma’s love for it. I don’t know the number but I’ve heard that she broke some family record for eating corn on the cob. I remember one cookout at the house in Wareham where we had fried chicken and corn on the cob on the octagonal table that my Great-Uncle Richard built and the one that now graces our patio. There were many family gatherings with my Grandma and she remembered what everyone liked and made sure that there was more than enough of it on hand. As a kid I loved mashed potatoes. I could eat tons of them as a kid. As I got older I moderated more of what I ate but I remember that Grandma always made a huge pot of mashed potatoes because I liked them. She was great like that.

My Cousin Carissa (In California) chatted with everyone via the webcam on Allison’s netbook. I also got a chance to talk with my Uncles about my Grandma, that was great because I will be giving the eulogy along with my sister Tara. So talking with everyone and seeing the great photos from Grandma’s life helped spark many of my memories and also learn stories from my family to properly honor Grandma’s memory at her funeral on Tuesday.